Disclaimer : Gilmore Girls isn't mine. If it had been my property, Logan would've been dismissed as soon as he got boring (which was pretty much right away).

Summary : Kismet may be just another word for destiny, but the road it sets us apon is not always a smooth one. Post Season 7.

1 - It's a Brain Cramp Kind of Day

Rory yawned, leaning back against her chair. She smiled in satisfaction at the just finished article, reading it over quickly before saving it and shutting down her laptop. While the computer shut down Rory glanced at her watch, taking note that it was nearly nine o'clock in the evening. Closing the laptop as she rose from her seat, Rory made her way out from behind her desk and proceeded to the kitchen.

"Need coffee," she mumbled aloud, though there was nobody else in her apartment. She opened the canister where the grounds were usually kept, only to find it empty. A sudden panic filled her stomach before she realized that she'd forgotten to buy more when she'd ran out earlier that afternoon. She face-palmed herself, cursing under her breath. She'd been so pre-occupied by her writing that the necessities were momentarily forgotten. Lorelai would surely be ashamed of her for this oversight. So much so that Rory feared that she'd be disowned if her mother ever found out about it.

Might as well head over to the market, Rory sighed, grabbing her bag and heading towards the door.

After a mostly uneventful walk, Rory arrived at Park's Confectionary and headed inside.

"Hello, Rory," greeted the teenager at the cashier, who was the owner's daughter.

"Hey, Myung," Rory waved, making her way to the familiar aisle where the coffee was placed. She walked around the corner and made a quick stop at the back freezer, deciding to grab a small tub of ice cream before going to the till.

"Ran out again, didn't you?" Myung asked in an amused tone, for this wasn't the first time that this had happened.

The girl smiled back, nodding in agreement as she punched in the prices. "That'll be ten dollars and fifty-two cents, please," she stated, sounding like Rory's old friend Lane, who she had just spoken to three days earlier on the phone.

"I've only got my card with me," Rory replied, taking her debit card from her bag.

"The machine's out," Myung said, shrugging in apology. "Sorry."

"I'll pay for it," a low familiar voice said from behind her, causing Rory's spine to go rigid in surprise. It couldn't be him, could it?

Rory turned around to come face to face with somebody she hadn't seen in four years, still in disbelief at how life had brought them back together. Oh, God, it is him!

"It's been a while," the guy stated, giving off that same awkward aura as he always had.

"Yeah," Rory agreed, her brain deciding just then to abandon her.

"You're not happy to see me, are you?"

"Just a little shell shocked is all," Rory shook her head, feeling a tad guilty for staring up at him to meet his gaze.

"I hate to break up this little reunion," Myung interjected. "But we close at nine and I still have homework to do tonight."

"Oh, yeah," the guy smiled sheepishly, pulling out his wallet and handing the girl a twenty. "There you go. That should cover Rory's stuff as well as my own."

"And here's your change," Myung replied, handing it to him. She packed two bags, each with their seperate goods inside, and handed them to him.

"Thanks," he nodded, then returned his attention to Rory. He held the bag containing the coffee and ice cream towards Rory. "Here you go, Rory."

"Thanks," Rory said, taking it from him.

"I gotta go," he stated after they stood in awkward silence, with an amused Korean teen watching their entire exchange.

"Okay," Rory nodded, her mind still numb.

"Bye," he waved before making a hasty exit.

"Bye," she parroted, then glanced over at the Korean girl at the counter.

"He's cute," Myung smirked.

"Yeah," Rory nodded again, beginning to realize how a bobblehead must feel with all the nodding she'd been doing in the last few minutes. "He is."

"Shouldn't you be running after him?" The Korean girl asked, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands. "If only to find out when you can pay him back for the ice cream and coffee?"

"Crap," Rory muttered before pushing the open the door to give pursuit. She stopped five feet from the front window and glanced back through the glass, where Myung was pointing to the right in an exaggerated fashion. Rory turned to the indicated direction and moved as fast as her legs would carry her without actually having to run, her target coming in sight a full twenty seconds later. She called out his name twice to no avail before deciding that there was only one way to grab his attention.

Marty stopped dead in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder at her with a horrified expression splayed across his features.

"You did not just call me that," he said when Rory caught up to him.

"Then you shouldn't have ignored me," Rory countered.

"I wasn't ignoring you," he repiled, shoving his hands into his back pockets. "I just didn't hear you."

"Sure," she snorted, not believing him for a second.

He rolled his eyes, "Fine, I admit it, I was trying to get away."

"Jerk," she laughed, punching his arm.

"Well, can you really blame me?" Marty asked with a wry expression.

"Considering how things went last time, I guess not," she answered, nodding in agreement.

Another awkward moment passed by, both of them thinking back on that horrible dinner several years beforehand.

"So where you heading to in such a hurry?" Rory asked, unable to take the quiet between them any longer.

"Home," he answered simply.

"And that would be where?"

"About four blocks that way," he hiked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Quite a long walk for a Gatorade and a couple of chocolate bars, isn't it?" Rory asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I just moved in about two weeks ago," Marty explained, shifting his weight from his left foot to the right. "This is the first time I've been out of the house that didn't have to do with work, so I thought I'd do some exploring."

"And that's how you ended up at Park's Confectionary," Rory concluded.

"Exactly the case, Miss Gilmore," Marty smiled.

"Elementary, my dear Harrison," Rory quipped.

"That doesn't quite have the same ring as Watson, now does it?" He chuckled.

"No, it doesn't," Rory agreed, laughing. Marty joined in before yet another awkward silence overtook them.

"I gotta get home now," Marty said a moment later, being the one to break the quiet this time. "Andy's probably wondering where I am."

"Andy? Is that your room mate?" Rory asked.

"In a way, I guess you can say that," he said, rather evasively.

"Okay," Rory replied, not quite sure what to make of that answer before shrugging it off. "Then see you later?"

"See you later," Marty nodded, then began to walk away.

"We should grab a coffee some time," Rory suggested when he had walked ten feet, then quickly added. "I'll buy, and we'll do some catching up."

"Yeah, we should do that sometime," Marty agreed, turning around to face her again.

"It's agreed then," Rory smiled before turning back in the direction towards her apartment. "See you around, Marty."

"See you around, Rory," she heard him parrot.

She didn't know why, but Rory felt proud of herself for some reason, walking away from the entire encounter with a strange feeling of accomplishment. It wasn't until she'd reached the front steps of her building that Rory realized they hadn't exchanged any sort of contact information.

"Ah, crap," she groaned, palming her forehead at the oversight.

End Scene.

I know, I know. I have a bad habit of starting new stories and neglecting the already established ones, but that's just the nature of the beast (as I call my muse sometimes) and I'm not going to apologize for it. It's not my fault that my muse has become so enamored with Breyton (see 'Live It Out'). I can't really blame it though since Brooke and Peyton are just so damn adorable together.

Anyhow, if you want to see more of this story, please review and tell me so. I have a vague idea on where I want this to go, just not how it should end.

Oh, well, see you next update!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.